Latest NCAA FBS Stats for Notre Dame Football

It's Wednesday -- which means it's time for our weekly look at where Notre Dame Football ranks in certain statistical categories amongst the 120 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision -- AT THE HALF WAY POINT OF THE 2010 SEASON.  In this analysis you'll see how Notre Dame currently stands -- as compared to their final ranking for 2009:

DEFENSIVE TEAM STATISTICS

Quarterback Sacks:  2010 Rank - #19 with 15 QB sacks -- in 2009 we had 19 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #92 -- Florida State leads the country with 26 QB sacks.

Interceptions:  2010 Rank - #14 with 8 interceptions -- in 2009 we had 12 interceptions for the season, ranking us #50 -- Florida leads the country with 13 interceptions.

Passes Deflected:  2010 Rank - #23 with 21 pass deflections -- in 2009 we had 28 pass deflections for the season, ranking us #99 -- Oregon leads the country with 37 pass deflections.

Third Down Conversion Rate:  2010 Rank - #30 allowing only 34% conversion rate on third down -- in 2009 we allowed a 39.5% conversion rate, ranking us #67 -- TCU leads the country allowing only a 22.67%  conversion rate.

Turnovers Gained:  2010 Rank - #47 with 10 turnovers gained -- in 2009 we gained 19 turnovers for the season, ranking us #80 -- Oregon leads the country with 22 turnovers gained this season.

Total Yards:  2010 Rank - #83 giving up 398 yards per game -- in 2009 we gave up an average of 397 yards per game, ranking us #86 -- TCU leads the country giving up 240 yards per game.

Points Allowed Per Game:  2010 Rank - #60 giving up 23.5 points per game -- in 2009 we gave up 25.3 points per game, ranking us #63 -- Iowa leads the country giving up 10.2 points per game.

OFFENSIVE TEAM STATISTICS

Total First Downs:  2010 Rank - #23 with 129 first downs -- in 2009 we had 293 first downs for the season, ranking us #13 -- Nevada leads the country with 165 first downs.

Third Down Conversions:  2010 Rank - #80 with a 35.4% conversion rate -- in 2009 we had a 39.1% conversion rate for the season, ranking us #48 -- Nevada leads the country converting 62.2% of their third downs.

Passing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #8 with 1,707 passing yards (284 yards per game)  -- in 2009 we passed for 3,882 yards (323 yards per game) for the season, ranking us #7 -- Hawaii leads the country with 2,530 passing yards (421 yards per game).

Rushing Yardage:  2010 Rank - #89 with 642 rushing yards (107 yards per game) -- in 2009 we rushed for 1,539 yards (127 yards per game) for the season, ranking us #88 -- Air Force leads the country with 2,116 rushing yards ( 352 yards per game).

Fewest QB Sacks Given Up:  2010 Rank -- #86 giving up 12 QB sacks -- in 2009 we gave up 25 QB sacks for the season, ranking us #66 -- Utah leads the country having only given up 1 QB sack.

Turnovers Lost:  2010 Rank - #92 with 12 turnovers lost -- in 2009 we had 14 turnovers for the season, ranking us #7 -- Oregon State leads the country with 1 turnover lost for the season.

Total Offense:  2010 Rank -- #56 with 2,349 yards (391 per game)  of offense -- in 2009 we had 5,421 yards (451 yards per game) of offense for the season, ranking us #8 -- Oregon leads the country with 3,402 yards (567 per game) of offense.

Points Per Game:  2010 Rank -- #82 with 24.3 points per game -- in 2009 we averaged 30.1 points per game for the season, ranking us #32 -- Oregon leads the country scoring 54.3 points per game.
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TEAM STATISTICS

Fewest Penalties:  2010 Rank - #20 with 27 penalties -- in 2009 we had 75 penalties for the season, ranking us #50 -- Indiana leads the country in the fewest penalties with 17.

Fewest Penalty Yards:  2010 Rank -- #37 with 260 total yards in penalties -- in 2009 we had 666 yards in penalties, ranking us #60 -- Penn State leads the country in fewest penalty yards with 131.

Net Punting Yards:  2010 Rank -- #82 with an average net of 36.0 yards per punt -- in 2009 we averaged 32.1 yards per punt, ranking us #112 -- Illinois leads the country in net yards per punt with 46.9

Gipp Leads Ramblers to 42-0 Win over Western!

This was the headline -- 90 years ago -- when the University of Notre Dame and Western Michigan University last played each other in football.  Notre Dame was led that day by a senior halfback named George Gipp, who had 14 carries for 123 yards -- scoring 2 TD's.  Gipp also completed a pass for 10 yards in the game.  "The Gipper" -- Notre Dame's first ever All-American football player, died two months later from pneumonia -- his illness led to missing the last game of the 1920 season against Michigan State.  Notre Dame's victory over Western Michigan was one of their nine victories that year -- and their second straight undefeated season and National Championship under third-year Head Coach, Knute Rockne.  Notre Dame played Western Michigan the year before (1919) as well -- beating them 53-0.  Will Western Michigan score their first points ever in football against Notre Dame this Saturday?  And a question for the RESEARCH FREAKS out there -- is this the longest gap of time (90 years) between two opponents playing in college football history?  Here's a link to George Gipp's per game statistics during his football career at Notre Dame:

LINK:  THE GIPP YEARS AT ND

Notre Dame Fans Have A Mobile Ap For That!

CBS Sports released today a mobile ap for Notre Dame fans who have a Blackberry or Droid.  Here's a link to how you can get your FREE ap:

LINK:  A MOBILE AP FOR NOTRE DAME FANS

Watch Coach Kelly's Press Conference Today!

You can watch Notre Dame Head Football Coach Brian Kelly's Tuesday press conference -- LIVE -- today at Noon EST.  Just click on the link:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Former Irish Hoops Star: 184 Straight!

Matt Carroll, former Notre Dame basketball player -- and now a guard with the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats -- made 184 consecutive free throws at the end of practice the other day.  Here's a story about his exploits in the Charlotte Observer:

LINK:  HE CAN SHOOT

Hesburgh Receives "Heroes of the World" Award

Former University of Notre Dame president, Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C will receive the "Heroes of the World Award" today at a reception at Notre Dame.  Given by St. John's Preparatory School, Hesburgh is the second recipient of this award -- the first going to the 41st President of the United States, George H. Bush.  Father Ted is no stranger to awards -- in fact, he's listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the recipient of the Most Honorary Degrees -- last count, more than 150!  Congratulations Father Ted on your most recent honor!

Notre Dame Alum Tops iTunes Charts!

 


University of Notre Dame Alum, Patrick Dupre' Quigley's (pictured) latest album Claudio Monteverdi: Vespers of the Blessed Virgin 1610 put him atop of the iTunes classical charts -- when it was released in August -- and for a brief time the recording was even more popular in the iTunes all genre category than superstar Lady GaGa's "The Fame Monster."  Quigley '00, is the founding artistic director of Seraphic Fire, a Miami-based ensemble of professional singers that performs a variety of choral works, including classical, contemporary, sacred and secular.  Seraphic Fire teamed up with the Western Michigan University Chorale to record this album.  Ironically, the Irish play Western Michigan University this Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium.  After graduating from Notre Dame's Department of Music in 2000, Quigley went on to Yale to get his Master's in conducting -- before founding Seraphic Fire in 2002.  Two years later, he became the youngest ever recipient of the Robert Shaw Fellowship, which the National Endowment for the Arts and Chorus America give to one promising early-career conductor each year.  His Seraphic Fire is known for its high-quality and exciting performances of Baroque and new music. The group appeared with international pop star Shakira, singing the opening Gregorian-style chant on her platinum-selling album, “Oral Fixation 2.”  Here's a few YouTube video links to Seraphic Fire's performances and an interview of Quigley by WLRN-TV in Miami -- THEY ARE GREAT -- A MUST WATCH!

LINK:  AN INTERVIEW OF QUIGLEY AND SERAPHIC FIRE

LINK:  SERPAHIC FIRE:  Amazing Grace

LINK:  SERAPHIC FIRE:  Bach: Cantata 147 "Jesus Bleibet"

LINK:  A SERAPHIC FIRE REHEARSAL

Notre Dame Basketball Media Day Coverage

The University of Notre Dame Men's & Women's Basketball teams had their Media Days today at Purcell Pavillion.  Here's a couple of links to Mike Brey and Muffet McGraw's press conferences:

LINK:  MIKE BREY MEETS WITH MEDIA

LINK:  MUFFET MCGRAW MEETS WITH MEDIA

Western Michigan University Is Up Next!

The Fighting Irish will be playing a new foe this Saturday when the Broncos of Western Michigan University from the Mid-American Conference visits Notre Dame Stadium.  It's the first time a Mid American Conference school has ever played a football game at Notre Dame.  And, the good folks from Kalamazoo "GET" what it means to play the Irish.  Here's what one of their linebackers had to say on Saturday:

“It’s one thing to play at Michigan, which has great tradition,” Broncos junior linebacker Mitch Zajac said. “It’s one thing to play at Michigan State, which is the same kind of deal. But Notre Dame ... everybody knows Notre Dame, everybody respects Notre Dame, everybody’s seen ‘Rudy’. There’s just a whole new aspect to it.”


And, here's a link to Western Michigan University's Coach, Bill Cubit -- in an interview he gave back in August to WZZM about the Broncos playing Notre Dame:

LINK:  PLAYING A GAME AT NOTRE DAME STADIUM

Irish Basketball -- Media Day

The University of Notre Dame's Men's & Women's Basketball teams are conducting their annual Media Day today -- at Purcell Pavillion.  One of the changes already reported is the new women's basketball jersey with their names "underneath" the number.  Here's a photo of Irish forward Devereaux Peters sporting the new jersey.  Photo was just tweeted by @eTruth_Irish (Ben Ford) -- thanks Ben!  Here's a link to the ETruth website:

LINK:  ETRUTH WEBSITE

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Concert On The Steps

Every Game Day at Notre Dame, ninety-minutes before kick-off, the Band of the Fighting Irish performs for thousands in front of Bond Hall.  Here's a photo from this past Saturday's performance -- courtesy of the gang at GAMEDAY.ND.EDU

Irish to Wear New Adidas Football Jersey

Notre Dame and Adidas announced today that the Irish football team will wear new TECHFIT jerseys beginning this Saturday against Western Michigan.   Adidas claims these jerseys feature "a ground-breaking compression fit" and weight "30 percent lighter than standard football jerseys."  Adidas goes on to brag that these jerseys will provide the Irish with "a streamlined fit, new fabric, reduced seams and an ultra-lightweight name and numbering system. In addition, the Notre Dame TECHFIT jersey keeps players cool with integrated ventilation zones and moisture management fabric."  Six other Adidas schools will debut the new TECHFIT jerseys this month: Michigan, Louisville, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, UCLA and Tennessee.  The photo was suppled by Adidas.  Here's a link to a YouTube video promoting the new Notre Dame jersey -- along with a second link to the Adidas Techfit Jersey website:  


LINK:  NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL JERSEY PROMO -- ADIDAS

LINK:  ADIDAS TECHFIT JERSEY WEBSITE

The Sunday Conversation -- Coach Kelly

University of Notre Dame Head Football Coach, Brian Kelly -- sat down for his weekly Sunday conversation with UND.COM's Jack Nolan.  The Irish are coming off of their second straight win -- beating Pitt on Saturday.  Here's a link to the interview:

LINK:  A SUNDAY CONVERSATION WITH COACH KELLY

What Would You Fight For?

The University of Notre Dame's award winning series entitled "What Would You Fight For?" -- released another story this past week -- and it's quite powerful.  Notre Dame Law Professor, Paolo Carozza (pictured)  -- who's Chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights -- was instrumental in securing human rights for the children of Paraguay.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  FIGHTING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Former Domer -- Seals Win for Eagles!

Trevor Laws, former defensive tackle for the University of Notre Dame (Dillon Hall) -- made a hit last night on San Francisco 49'ers QB Alex Smith, in the final 28 seconds, that caused an errant throw and interception --  securing the 27-24 win for the Philadelphia Eagles.  The 49'ers were driving down the field, needing a field goal to tie or a TD to win, when Laws made the big hit on Smith as he was throwing the ball.  The win puts the Eagles at 3-2 for the season and tied with the Redskins and Giants at the top of the NFC East.  (Laws is #93 in the photo).

LINK:  GAME STORY -- LAWS HIT ON QB

Where Are They Now? -- Bob Crable

Some of the "not so experienced" visitors to the ND GO IRISH BLOG might not remember All-American linebacker Bob Crable.  He played for Gerry Faust at Archbishop Moeller High School, winning three state championships -- before moving on to Notre Dame where he was recruited by Dan Devine.  Crable played for Devine for one season before his former high school coach (Faust) became his head coach at Notre Dame.  The photo is of Bob (#43) blocking a kick against Michigan. Bob earned All-American honors his junior and senior seasons at Notre Dame and was selected in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.  He played seven seasons for the Jets before a knee injury ended his career.  Crable went on to start his own sportswear company, in his hometown of Cincinnati, before selling it and returning to his alma-mater (Moeller High School) to teach and coach.  Bob was recently the guest speaker at Notre Dame High School in Utica, NY -- for the school's 50th Anniversary.  A Utica, NY television station caught up with Crable -- see the link below:

LINK:  CRABLE INTERVIEW

Jill & Thomas -- Seventh Place Last Night!

Thomas Wolfard '02, and his girlfriend Jill Haney, finished in seventh place last night in CBS's Amazing Race.  They were once again in Ghana competing in Season 17 of this globe-trotting adventure race.  The good news -- their seventh place finish ensures them that they will move on to the next show and they still have their EXPRESS PASS.  CBS's Amazing Race airs on Sunday evening's.  Wolfard, a Notre Dame grad, can also be followed on Twitter (see link below) and on Facebook (link below).  If you missed last night's show -- click on the link -- and check out CBS's "After the Race" interview with Jill & Thomas:

LINK:  CBS -- AFTER THE RACE INTERVIEW


LINK:  REPLAY OF CBS'S AMAZING RACE -- SEASON 17

LINK:  THOMAS & JILL'S FACEBOOK PAGE

LINK:  THOMAS WOLFARD'S TWITTER PAGE

OK Go's Halftime Performance at ND

The Grammy Award winning rock band -- OK Go -- performed during halftime of the Notre Dame vs. Pitt football game yesterday with The Band of the Fighting Irish.  You may recall that last year OK Go teamed up with the Notre Dame marching band in their music video for their hit song -- This Too Shall Pass.  The popular YouTube video has had more than 3,440,000 views (see the link below).  Here's a link to NBC's coverage of The Band of the Fighting Irish's halftime show -- and a link to WNDU's story as well:

LINK:  OK GO -- WNDU STORY

LINK:  OK GO -- NBC HALFTIME COVERAGE

LINK:  OK GO -- MUSIC VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

C. Pfleger Wins ND GO IRISH BLOG CONTEST

The ND GO IRISH BLOG is pleased to announce that C. Pfleger was the winner of yesterday's contest -- correctly picking the Irish to win and Michael Floyd to score the first TD.  To claim your prize -- a $15 gift certificate to the Olive Garden -- please send an email to jim.small@ndgoirish.com

Wenger Talks with WNDU

Notre Dame football player Dan Wenger received word this week that he would not be cleared to return to play this season -- after suffering two concussions.  The fifth-year center, out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School, sat down with WNDU to talk about his situation.  Click on the link below:

LINK:  DAN WENGER

ESPN'S Spin -- Irish Beat Pittsburgh

Our friends at ESPN had this to say (see link below to ESPN blog) over-night about our Fighting Irish's 23-17 victory over the Pitt Panthers.  Notre Dame QB Dayne Crist threw for a TD and ran for a TD leading the Irish to their second straight win on his 21st birthday.  Here's a link to ESPN's blog story and some footage from Coach Kelly's post-game press conference -- along with a replay of our "buddies" Herbstreit and Howard (BIG TEN HOMERS) and their prediction of the ND / PITT game prior to kick-off.

LINK:  WHAT ESPN IS SAYING ABOUT THE IRISH'S VICTORY

LINK:  HERBSTREIT AND HOWARD'S GAME PREDICTION

What the Media is Sayin' -- ND's Win Over Pitt

Here's what the media had to say about Notre Dame's 23-17 win Saturday over the Pitt Panthers.  The victory brings the Irish back to 3-3 on the season with Western Michigan coming to town next week.  Just click on the links below:

LINK:  PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE 

LINK:  INDIANAPOLIS STAR 

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

NBC Game Replay: ND vs. Pitt

Like they do for every home game they televise -- NBC provides a replay of every play AND COMMERCIAL -- at Notre Dame Central.  Here's a link to watch Notre Dame's 23-17 win on Saturday -- one more time:

LINK:  REPLAY OF NOTRE DAME'S WIN OVER PITT

Coach Kelly Post Game Press Conference

The Irish beat Pittsburgh today 23-14 on the FOOT of a record-breaking performance by "walk-on" place-kicker, David Ruffer.  Ruffer was 3 for 3 including a 50 yard field goal early in the third quarter that set the all-time consecutive field goal record at Notre Dame with 15 in a row!!!  After six games -- Ruffer has to be considered one of ND's MVP's.  Here's a link to Coach Kelly's post-game press conference.

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE -- WIN OVER PITT

It's Game Day @ Notre Dame!

It's the best day of the week -- Game Day at Notre Dame!  This morning I'm updating the blog from a hotel room in Buffalo, NY -- where our youngest son is going to be competing in his first college swim meet today.  That's the good news -- the not so good news is the swim meet has "two sessions" -- the first starts at 10 AM and the second starts at 3 PM -- so, I'm going to miss the Notre Dame game.  For those of you not going to the Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh game today -- here's what you can do ALL DAY to get ready for kick-off:


LINK:  NOTRE DAME GAME DAY RADIO SHOW --  starts at 9 AM EST

LINK:  UND.COM LIVE STADIUM CAM -- watch Notre Dame Stadium fill up, starts at 11 AM EST

LINK:  UND.COM PRE GAME BLOG -- starts at 2:30 PM EST

KICK OFF:  3:42 PM EST

LINK:  UND.COM LIVE POST GAME SHOW -- starts immediately after game's end

What the "Money's" Saying About -- ND vs. Pitt

Here's what "Las Vegas" has to say about today's game between our Fighting Irish and the Pitt Panthers.  It's always interesting to see how they analyze each game.  Here's a link to a few of the sports betting sites:



LINK:  BetUS's ANALYSIS OF ND vs. PITT

LINK:  MADDUX SPORTS -- ANALYSIS OF ND vs. PITT

LINK:  PREDICT'EM -- ANALYSIS OF ND vs. PITT

LINK:  SPORTSODDS -- ANALYSIS OF ND vs. PITT

Football Friday @ Notre Dame!

Here's some video taken by the gang at UND.COM yesterday from the "pageantry" -- as Coach Kelly likes to explain it -- that is a Notre Dame Football Weekend.  Here's a link to video from the QB Luncheon hosted by Digger Phelps and the Pep Rally on the Irish Green.  Enjoy:


LINK:  NOTRE DAME QB LUNCHEON - COACH KELLY

LINK:  NOTRE DAME QB LUNCHEON -- COACH ALFORD, GOLDEN TATE & KYLE RUDOLPH

LINK:  PEP RALLY ON THE IRISH GREEN

Notre Dame To Put a Charge Into Electric Cars!

The University of Notre Dame, Eaton Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors North America are teaming up to explore the viability of moving to electric powered vehicles for the campus fleet.  This weekend, you'll see a "unique" looking vehicle called the iMiev -- displayed in the Irish Green.  It's an electric car that is currently only for sale in Japan.  Notre Dame will have an iMiev for the next several months  -- on campus -- to test.  Eaton Corporation is providing state-of-the-art charging stations to assist ND in this exploration.  The iMiev currently gets about 100 miles to a charge.  Here's a link to the iMiev website:

LINK:  AN ELECTRIC CAR FOR NOTRE DAME

Weather Forecast for ND vs. Pitt

Well, it doesn't get much better than this -- look at this forecast for Football Weekend at Notre Dame!  Here's a link to Storm 16 Interactive Weather Radar out of South Bend:

LINK:  LIVE WEATHER RADAR

ESPN Preview: Notre Dame vs. Pitt

One of the "talking heads" on ESPN's college football team (Trevor Matich) previewed the matchup between our Fighting Irish and the Pitt Panthers.  Here's a link to the video:


LINK:  IRISH vs. PANTHERS -- THIS SATURDAY

ND GO IRISH BLOG Contest -- Win $15

Folks, our friends at Olive Garden sent us a $15 gift certificate, good at any Olive Garden in the United States or Canada -- for our ND GO IRISH BLOG Contest:

So, to win a free meal or two at Olive Garden here's all you have to do -- pick the winner of the Notre Dame vs. Pitt game this Saturday.

The tie-breaker's are these -- who scores the first TD for the Irish and the second tie-breaker is how many points will Notre Dame score in the game.  In the case of -- the tie-breakers canceling themselves out -- the first ND or PITT fan to submit a winning entry -- wins!  Here's what we need from you:

1. The winning team in the Notre Dame vs. Pitt game this Saturday
2. The name of the player who scores the first TD in the game for Notre Dame
3. The total points scored by Notre Dame in the game
4. And, please leave a name, initials or whatever - so we can properly identify the winner!

Post your entry in the Comments Section below -- Good Luck!  We'll notify the winner via the ND GO IRISH BLOG on Sunday morning.   Contest entry deadline is 2:30 PM EST -- this Saturday!

Blogger's Analysis of Notre Dame vs. Pitt

Ran across this blog post this morning -- found it to be a clever analysis of Saturday's game between Notre Dame and Pittsburgh at Notre Dame Stadium.  Please be advised, it's not your typical "offense vs. defense" analysis of the two teams.  It's better than that!  Enjoy:

LINK:  ANALYSIS OF THE FIGHTING IRISH vs. THE PANTHERS

Coach Kelly's Radio Show -- Tonight @ 7 PM!

It's Thursday and that means it's the Brian Kelly Radio Show coming to you live from Legends of Notre Dame at 7 PM EST.  The one-hour show is co-hosted by UND.COM's Jack Nolan.  Here's a link to watch it live on the web and a link to listen to it live on the web:

LINK:  WATCH THE RADIO SHOW LIVE ON THE WEB

LINK:  LISTEN TO THE RADIO SHOW LIVE ON THE WEB

Wednesday Football Interviews -- Pitt Week

The gang over at UND.COM posted a few more interviews last night after practice.  Here are the links with their specific subjects:

LINK:  COACH KELLY AFTER PRACTICE

LINK:  BENNETT JACKSON INTERVIEW

LINK:  DAYNE CRIST & MICHAEL FLOYD

LINK:  DARRIN WALLS & CARLO CALABRESE

Michael Floyd Ranked 19th in Receiving Yards

This might surprise many Notre Dame fans, but Michael Floyd is currently 19th in the country in total receiving yards.  After five games, Floyd has 28 catches for 408 yards and 2 TD's.  The top two receivers in the country both play for Hawaii -- one has 682 yards the other has 602 yards.  Here's a link to the receiver rankings:

LINK:  TOP RECEIVERS IN THE COUNTRY

Irish Walk On Kicker -- Ranked 17th!

Notre Dame field goal kicker, David Ruffer, who last year at this time was playing "interhall football" for his dorm team at Notre Dame is now ranked amongst the top twenty kickers in college football!  Could be a movie here some day!!!  Ruffer has been perfect hitting all eight of his field goals with a long of 46 yards.  Sure hope I didn't just jinx him!  Here's a link to the rankings of field goal kicking:

LINK:  FIELD GOAL KICKING

Irish Ranked 14th in Fewest Penalties!

The Notre Dame Football team is the 14th least penalized team in college football this season after the first five games.  The Irish have been flagged for 21 penalties for 200 yards.  The most penalized team in college football is Troy with 55 penalties for 480 yards.  The second most is Arizona State with 46 penalties for 426 yards.  The least penalized team in the country is Indiana with 14 penalties for 121 yards. Again, a good sign for what's going on with our football program!  Here's a link to the rankings:

LINK:  MOST PENALIZED TEAMS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Notre Dame Ranked 19th in Total Sacks of QB's

Believe it or not, but our Fighting Irish defense is ranked in the top twenty in total number of QB sacks this season with 13!  As a point of reference, last year's "blitz happy" defense of John Tenuta finished 92nd in the country in total QB sacks with 19 for the season.  We have 13 after five games!  That's improvement folks!  Here's a link to the QB Sack Rankings of college football teams this season:

LINK:  TOTAL QB SACKS

Irish Football Ranked 8th in Two Categories...

The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish popped up in 8th in two national rankings this week -- one was for strength of schedule, where their schedule is ranked 8th toughest in the country.  And, the second is in Passing Offense, where the Irish are 8th in total passing yards with 1,465 -- in the country.  The schedule ranking is not surprising -- though if you asked us how tough our schedule was six months ago, most Irish fans would have said it was one of our "easier schedules" in some time.  And, Dayne Crist has had some big games, yardage wise, throwing the ball.  Here's a link to the Sagarin Rankings and a link to the ranking of teams by total passing yards:

LINK:  SAGARIN RATINGS

LINK:  PASSING OFFENSE

ND Football Update -- Tuesday Interviews

The folks at UND.COM have done a wonderful job this year covering Notre Dame Football.  Can't thank them enough!  Here's a link to Brian Kelly's Pittsburgh press conference along with a link to an interview, after yesterday's practice, with Notre Dame's Defensive Coordinator, Bob Diaco (pictured) -- enjoy!

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  BOB DIACO INTERVIEW

Father Jenkins to Attend Canonization in Rome

A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross order -- Brother Andre Bessette, C.S.C. (pictured) will be canonized for sainthood on October 17th in the Vatican's St. Peter's Square.  The Congregation of Holy Cross is the order that founded Notre Dame and Blessed Andre is their first member to be granted sainthood.  University of Notre Dame president -- Rev. John I.  Jenkins will lead a delegation from Notre Dame who will be attending this  ceremony.  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune article as well as a link to a story about the "Miracle Man from Montrel" -- Brother Andre Bessette.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME DELEGATION TO ATTEND CANONIZATION

LINK:  THE MIRACLE MAN FROM MONTREAL

What a Week for ND's Skylar Diggins!

In the past seven days, University of Notre Dame women's basketball star, Skylar Diggins, was invited to be a panelist at ESPN's W. Retreat at The Lodge at Torrey Pines (three days in San Diego) -- joining some of the biggest female sports stars in America.  And, upon her return to the Notre Dame campus she learns that she's one of the thirty named to the John R. Wooden Women's Award Watch List for their player of the year award -- not a bad week!  In August, Skylar was named to the Watch List for the Wade Trophy which is the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's award for the top player in women's college basketball.  Diggins and her Fighting Irish teammates kick-off the 2010-2011 season with their first official practice tomorrow.  Here's a link to a Fox28TV report on Skylar's trip to the ESPN W. Retreat, a link to the Retreat's website and a link to the Wooden Award's website:

LINK:  A GREAT HONOR FOR SKYLAR

LINK:  ESPN W RETREAT

LINK:  WOODEN AWARD'S WATCH LIST

Zibby Fined $5,000 by National Football League

 

Former Notre Dame All-American, Tommy Zbikowski -- and now starting safety for the 3-1 Baltimore Ravens -- was fined $5,000 for "unnecessary roughness" on a Cleveland Browns running back. Zibby threw Peyton Mills to the ground -- garnering a 15-yard penalty and a few days later -- the NFL FINE!  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  ZIBBY FINED $5,000 BY NFL

Think Coach Kelly Expected This?

Have we become to "PC" (Politically Correct) in this country?  I've found two articles this morning complaining about Coach Kelly's "methods" on the Notre Dame sideline.  Folks, ESPN on ABC chose to make this a story Saturday night when they continually put a camera on Coach Kelly when his players came to the sideline.   And, they "conveniently" chose to only show the times he was displeased with one of his players.


THIS IS BIG TIME COLLEGE FOOTBALL -- NOT KINDERGARTEN RECESS!  Why am I'm fully expecting the ACLU or Gloria Allred to be next?

Here's a story written by a guy named Mike Hutton from the Post-Tribune -- which I understand is a Northwest Indiana newspaper.  Maybe I'm too old-school -- you decide:

LINK:  KELLY TOO TOUGH ON PLAYERS